


Rain and Shadows

by happyaspie



Series: Tony Stark is a Good Mentor [8]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Because He Make Poor Choices, Early Mornings, He Should Not Be Allowed To Watch Horror Movies, Helicopter Mentor Tony Stark, Peter Parker Can't Be Left Alone, Peter Parker Is Bad At Keeping Secrets, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Power Outage, Precious Peter Parker, Rain, Random & Short, Storms, Tired Tony Stark, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark is a Good Mentor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2019-07-10
Packaged: 2020-05-14 23:05:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19283050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/happyaspie/pseuds/happyaspie
Summary: It's three in the morning and pouring rain when Peter comes dripping into Tony's living room.   Tony is tired and wants to know why the kid is there in the first place because he's clearly hiding something.  He just wasn't expecting it to be... that.





	Rain and Shadows

Tony had just stepped into the elevator after spending entirely too much time in the lab when FRIDAY announced that Spider-man was requesting entrance to the building. Looking at his watch, it was way too early in the morning for a visit from the friendly neighborhood vigilante. "Is he in one piece?", he asked casually, knowing that the AI in his suit would have contacted him if there was anything detrimentally wrong.

 

"Mr. Parker does not appear to require medical attention.", The AI confirmed. 

 

Tony sighed.  "Let him up.  Tell him I'll meet him in my living room." 

 

There was a brief pause before the AI spoke up again.  "You may want to have some towels at the ready, boss."

 

"Say what, now?", Tony asked on confusion.  He couldn't come up with any reason why he would need to greet Peter with a stack of towels.

 

"Tropical Storm Eilene has crossed into the area and is causing heavy rain and high winds.  Flash flood warnings have been issued across the state however they should be expiring in the next four hours.", the AI explained in near monotone as she quoted the local news station.

 

Tony took a short detour to grab several towels, the whole time trying to figure out why the kid was out in the pouring rain in the first place.  The second he rounded the corner and Peter was within sight he rolled his eyes.  The kid was soaking wet and shivering head to toe, despite the heater in the suit.  "Kid!  What are you doing patrolling in the rain like that?  Surely there aren't any major crimes to stop in this kind of weather.", he asked as he wrapping the kid up in the largest of the towels, tossing a second one over the boy's now maskless head to start rubbing it over his hair.

 

"I know, Mr. Stark.  I just wanted to come to check on you.", Peter chattered through his teeth, pulling the towel in a little more closely.  

 

Tony paused for a moment, still holding the towel to Peter's head. "You wanted to check on me.", he said dryly before continuing his attempt to get the kid's overgrown hair to stop dripping.  

 

"Mm-hmm.", he replied with a smile.

 

Tony finally satisfied with the lack of moisture in the kid's hair tossed the towel to the side. "Kid, you could have called me.  I'm fine. I've been the lab for like, two days.  _I didn't even know it was raining._ ", he explained with some mirthful confusion.  The kid was smart.  Smart enough to know that a phone call would have been the more reasonable thing to do. Then again, Peter wasn't exactly known for _always_ being super reasonable. 

 

"Oh.", Peter uttered.  His smile faltered for only a second but Tony didn't miss it.  What was up with this kid?

 

"Does May know you're here", Tony questioned.  "...or am I about to get a phone call about you being missing?"  It wouldn't be the first time.  In fact, that should have probably been his first question.  

 

"Actually she's on a business trip this weekend.  She left Friday.", Peter explained with a shrug of his still saturated shoulders.

 

"Oh.   Well, how about I get you some dry clothes? You hang out here for a little while.  I'll get Happy to drive you home when the sun comes up.", Tony reasoned as he started towards the elevator. The kid was only slightly smaller than him.  His clothes would be a bit baggy but they wouldn't swallow him up or anything.  It only took a few minutes to grab some of his smaller sweat pants and a t-shirt before returning to where the boy was still dripping on the floor. "Here, go change in that bathroom over there." 

 

Peter thanked the man and shuffled towards the aforementioned bathroom, clothes in hand.  When he returned he looked much more comfortable, though, Tony had miscalculated how much smaller than him the kid actually way.  The pants were riding low on the boy's waist and he had to keep tugging them back up. He made a mental note to order the kid some clothes to keep there for situations like this one.  If it happened once it was bound to happen again.  That's how Peter worked.

 

"I think it's supposed to be like this all day.", Peter hesitantly mentioned as he was coming down the hall towards where his mentor was waiting for him.

 

 Not really taking the boy's tone into account Tony replayed what the AI had told him earlier.  "FRIDAY said that the Flood warnings will be expiring soon."

 

"Maybe, but it's supposed to be raining and thundering all day.", Peter reasoned as he wrapped his arms around his body.  He was still chilly from being so wet for so long.  

 

Tony looked the kid over and gestured for him to follow towards the sitting area.  "I'm sure Happy can handle it.", he quipped as he tossed the boy a small throw blanket.  

 

Peter sat down in the largest chair and pulled his bare feet up under himself before pulling the blanket all the way up to his chin. "I don't have any school today.", he said with a smile, wiggling around in the chair to find the perfect spot.

 

Dropping his body heavily onto the couch beside where Peter sat, Tony waved his hand indistinctly in the air.  "I gathered that being as it's Saturday... Sunday? ... Which is it FRIDAY?", he finally called out in mild frustration. 

 

"Today is Sunday, September the eighteenth.", the AI promptly replied.

 

Ignoring the man's earlier offer to have him driven home in a few hours Peter tried to persuade his mentor into allowing him to remain there a bit longer.  "Do you mind if I stay here for the day, Mr. Stark?  I won't bother you or anything.  I'll just watch TV and stuff."

 

Sitting down had probably been a bad idea.  Exhaustion was taking over.  "Why can't you watch TV at your house?", he asked just barely, keeping the annoyance out of his tone.

 

Peter hesitated for a moment before answering only to be cut off by Tony's next question.  "Well, the power kind of went out.--"

 

"--So you came here to watch TV?", Tony inquired with an eyebrow quirked.

 

"No.  I came to check on you.", Peter replied assuringly with a nod of his head and a wide smile.  

 

"Right.", Tony inconclusively replied.   "I feel like I'm missing something here.  What am I missing, kid?"

 

"Nothing!  I just don't want Happy to have to drive in the rain, that's all.", He said dropping the blanket into his lap so that he could hold his hands up defensively.  "I can swing home when it slows down later this afternoon."  

 

"No way Spider-kid.  You are getting _a ride_ home.  Period.  It's bad enough you swung over here in this mess.", the man firmly insisted before wavering a bit.  "Do you not want to go home because of the power outage?", he asked.  It was the only reason his tired brain could come up with but there was a solution for that too.  "I suppose Happy could drive you to a friends house."

 

"Ned's with his cousins.", Peter answered as he readjusted the blanket to cover his arms up again.  

 

Trying and failing to keep the annoyance out of his voice, Tony rolled his eyes.  "You don't have any other friends?"

 

"I do...  just at school.", Peter said guardedly before dropping into a slightly quieter tone.  "I don't really go to their houses, though... Can't I stay here with you?"

 

Dropping his head onto the back of the couch and closing his eyes, Tony sighed.  "Kid, I didn't even know what day it was until seven minutes ago.  I'm going to bed."

 

"I won't bother you!  I swear!", Peter exclaimed with a little more enthusiasm that was really necessary.  That seemed to get Tony's attention as he cracked an eye open to look the kid over.

 

 "Why do you want to stay here anyway?.", he asked as he continued to watch Peter with the one side-eye.

 

"The powers out.", Peter carefully reiterated.  As much as he wanted to come up with a better excuse than that, he couldn't seem to. 

 

"...and...", Tony asked, waving his hand in circles towards the boy.  There had to be more to it than _that_.  

 

Peter grinned sheepishly at his mentor.  "...and it's dark?", he tried.

 

Not really up for any more of Peter's side-stepping answers, Tony groaned and turned towards where the kid was sitting.  "I'm entirely too tired for this conversation right now."

 

Peter took that opportunity to try again to push for what he really wanted.  Smiling his best smile he looked his mentor right in the eys.  "So go to bed!  I'll stay here."

 

"I  _am not_ leaving you alone in here.  Lord knows what you'd get into.", Tony replied huffing a laugh.  

 

"I'll be fine, Mr. Stark.", Peter pleaded.   "Trust me!"

 

Quirking an eyebrow at his mentee, Tony looked at Peter for several seconds before speaking.  "Last time you said that I ended putting out a _kitchen fire.--_ "

 

"Yeah, but nobody died or anything!--", Peter quickly shot back with a smile.  

 

"--That's not really the point, kid!", Tony strained, shaking his head at the mere memory.  

 

Peter's wide smile fell into more of a timid grin.  _Maybe he'd gone about that the wrong way_.  "I promise not to go into the kitchen?", he hopefully spoke, though it came out as more of a question than a pledge.

 

Still unsure of what was going through the kid's head, Tony decided to give in to an extent.  He figured if he didn't then this exchange was never going to end and he was never going to get any sleep.  Leaning forward on the couch and resting his elbows on his knees, Tony turned his body towards Peter.  "Alright, I don't know what your deal is right now but here's what's going to happen.  You listening?", he asked firmly. 

 

"Yes, sir!", Peter affirmed, leaning forward slightly to match his mentor's posture.

 

With confirmation, Tony began to explain his compromise.  "I'm going to take a nap on this couch right here while you watch the Disney Channel or whatever it is that kid's watch--"

 

"--The Discovery Channel--", Peter interrupted with a pleased look on his face.  

 

"--Whatever.", Tony laughed before continuing.  "FRIDAY will order us some lunch at noon and then _I'll_ drive you home."

 

Peter scrunched up his brow in thought before attempting a negotiation. "How, how about three?"

 

"Three what?", Tony asked in fatigued confusion.

 

"Three o'clock.  Can I stay here until then, Mr. Stark?", Peter clarified.  

 

Running his hands down his face, Tony moaned.  "Why three?", he asked. He really hopes he got an actual answer this time.

 

"May's not getting home until close to four.", Peter came back easily and without thinking.

 

"So, that's what this is about!", Tony yelled in elation at the revelation causing Peter's eyes to go wide.  Clearly, the kid was tired of sitting alone at home.  That must have been it and based on the boy's reaction he obviously hadn't meant to divulge that information.

 

Peter sat there with his mouth wide open for not less than a full minute before he began to stutter.  "Nope.  No, it's not.  That was just a little fun fact that's all.  Has nothing to do with anything.  I Swear--"

 

"--Kid!", Tony shouted out warningly despite the smile on his face.

 

"Okay, okay... Fine.  Being alone in the apartment while it's dark is creepy.", Peter admitted covering his face with the blanket so he didn't have to see his mentor's reaction.

 

"Creepy?", Tony asked with a laugh.  _This conversation may be worth staying up for, after all_ , he thought as he waited for the kid to go on.

 

"Well, yeah.  The rain makes it all dark and then the candles flicker weird shadows on the wall, plus I watched House on Haunted Hill last night and that made--", he stopped himself right there, clapping a hand solidly over his mouth.   "...but that's actually beside the point.  Forget I said that part!", he eventually added in a near panic.

 

"You know it's not real right?", Tony asked in mild disbelief.

 

"I know that.  ...but try telling that to the stupid part of my brain that won't let it go...", Peter mumbled into the blanket.

 

"Aww... I think it's cute that you're scared of the dark.", Tony cooed mockingly, the smile never leaving his face.  

 

"I never said that.", Peter defended his tone getting dangerously close to a whine, still hidden under the blanket.

 

"Yeah, You pretty much did say that, Kid. You watched a scary movie and then hightailed it over here because you were _scared of the dark_.", The man gleefully surmised. 

 

"That's not what happened, Mr. Stark!  I'm, I'm not scared of the dark... or the movie!", he nearly yelled as he uncovered his head before finishing lamely.  "I just wanted to come over..."

 

"That's right, I forgot,  _you were checking on me_.", Tony placated.  Mirth was still written all over his face.

 

"Exactly.  Now can I stay or not?", Peter begged.  

 

After several moment's thought, Tony sighed.  "You can stay but only if you clean up that puddle and all of those footprints you left on my floor over there.", Tony gave in.  Then, he tossed a dry towel towards the chair where the kid was still curled up.

 

"Yes, sir!", Peter agreed, catching the towel with very little effort and jogging over to clean up the mess.  It didn't take long for Peter to notice that his mentor was still sitting up watching him. "I thought you were going to take a nap?", he asked before adding the towel he'd used to dry up the floor to the pile in the corner.

 

"Oh, I am. ", Tony guaranteed before rising to his feet and meandering towards the kitchen.  "Did you eat yet?"

 

"This morning?", Peter asked stupidly.

 

"Yes, _this morning_!", Tony retorted with a laugh. 

 

"Oh, um... No."

 

"That's right because you had to run like the wind to get away from your suddenly haunted apartment.  I remember now.", the man teased.

 

"I did not, Mr. Stark!", Peter whined, following Tony into the kitchen.  

 

"Alright, kid, coffee for me, eggs for you _then_ I nap.", Tony explained, already preparing the coffee maker and taking out a pan.

 

"I can make my own eggs, Mr. Stark.", Peter grumbled as he sat down on one of the barstools.  

 

"No, you can't.  You don't make eggs, _you make fire_.", the man laughed while pointing the pan in his hands in an accusatory fashion towards Peter. 

 

"It was one time!", Peter groaned as he dropped his head onto his hands.  He was never going to hear the end of that.  It hadn't even been his fault.  Well, maybe it was _kind of_ his fault but not completely!

 

Smiling and setting the pan on the stove, Tony glanced over his shoulder towards his now pink in the cheeked mentee. "One time too many."

 

"Yeah, yeah.", Peter grumbled under his breath, resting his head on the counter.  After a few moments of silence, he was able to brush off the embarrassment and began to quietly watch Tony.  The man quickly cooked what had to have been at least ten eggs and set a plate before him.   Peter picked up the fork with a small smile. "Thank you, sir."

 

"You're welcome.", Tony replied as he began sipping on the mug he'd finally been able to fill.  "You know, next time May goes out of town why don't you just stay here? Then I won't have a sopping wet spider-boy dripping all over my floor at three in the morning.", he nonchalantly suggested.  "No more staying alone for you."

 

Stopping mid-bite, Peter looked at him mentor incredulously.  "You would let me do that?"

 

"As long as you _stay out of the kitchen_... I don't see why not.", the man smirked.

 

Ignoring his mentor's jab Peter smiled.  "That would be awesome, Mr. Stark!"

 

"Mm-hmm...", Tony agreed before continuing.  "...and no more horror movies for you either."

 

"Ugh, come on, Mr. Stark!  I asked you to forget I said that!", Peter groused as he continued eating his early morning breakfast.  He had a feeling he was going to regret letting that slip.

 

"Sure, Kid.", Tony smirked around the coffee cup he was bringing to his mouth.

 

Dropping his head so that his chin nearly met his chest Peter sighed.  "I'm never going to live this down am I?"

 

"Nope.  Not a chance.", the man laughed, swallowing the last of his coffee. 

 

"Great.", Peter quipped quietly.

 

"I'm going to go lay on the couch, yeah?  Keep the volume down.", Tony said seriously before a playful smile began tugging at his lips "You can wake me up if something gets _too scary_.  I'll go get you a teddy bear or something."

 

Peter rolled his eyes as he watched Tony walk out of the room and flop down onto the couch.  Then with a smile of his own, he shouted across the room.  "Good-night Mr.Stark!"  Yeah, he was never going to live this down but he could deal with it.

 


End file.
